Exodus 14:17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
24 And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,
25 And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.
People make choices all the time. Often they do not take the consequences into consideration. What is the cost of rejecting the true God? Is there some other god that can help? Can a person avoid God just because they do not want to believe in Him? It is true that some people have very powerful minds. They can convince themselves that wrong is right and they seem quite content to follow that lie.
In our text we read that the LORD told Moses that He would harden the hearts of the Egyptians. Pharaoh was the king. He made a choice that had ramifications for the entire nation. However, the people also made choices. They had the liberty to choose to follow the lies of Pharaoh, or they could have stopped and considered the God Who was sending all the plagues into their land. They could have considered why those plagues were upon them. They could have known that it is impossible to avoid the true God.
However, they chose to follow their Pharaoh’s foolish choice. They made their choice. Their foolish choice would not diminish Who God was in the least. He would get honour upon Pharaoh and upon his host. His chariots may have been polished and they were no doubt the pride of the nation. Those chariots would be buried at the bottom of the Red Sea. They would never be seen again. His horsemen would be laying dead on the shore of the Red Sea or sunk in the Red Sea by their waterlogged armour.
God would give some of the common people of Egypt another opportunity to consider their need to trust in the true God. They would know that He is the LORD when He was finished with Pharaoh and his chariots and his horsemen.
In verse 19 we see that the angel of God who had been going before the camp of Israel took up a position behind them now. The pillar of the cloud which had been before them also went to the back of the nation. God had a plan. None of the events taking place were a surprise to Him. He was going to show the children of Israel that He would protect them. His protection over them was not because they were so faithful. His protection of them was because of the promise He had given to Abraham several hundred years ago. God is faithful to Himself. The wise person submits to Him and enjoys the blessings of His faithfulness.
Pharaoh and his armies had a plan. However God put His cloud between Pharaoh and his army and the children of Israel. That cloud was darkness to the Egyptians, but light to the Hebrews. It is important to be on the right side of God’s cloud.
In verse 21 we read that Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the LORD caused a strong east wind to blow all night. The Egyptians would not have seen the effects of that wind. By morning the sea bed was dry and ready for the children of Israel to cross over.
The children of Israel arose and went into the midst of the sea on dry ground. That must have been quite the scene for them to witness. The waters were a wall on either side. The nation was in a place where they could not really protest God’s command. They may have had some reservations, but they did not hesitate to follow this command.
As the children of Israel crossed over that cloud followed them. Pharaoh saw what had happened and he assumed that he could use that same path to cross over the Red Sea and capture the children of Israel. He just continued to prove his foolishness. He had already witnessed the LORD’s hand against him in so many ways. Now he would put himself into a trap designed for him.
We read in verse 24 that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and the cloud. He troubled the host of the Egyptians. He took off the chariot wheels. The Egyptians were in a panic mode. They did not want to stay in the bottom of the Red Sea. They whipped those horses and tried to get them to drag those chariots out of that place. They now understood that the LORD was fighting for the children of Israel and He was against the Egyptians.
They discovered the truth, but too late. God gave them many opportunities to know Him. They had many opportunities to repent and trust in the true God. They did not want to do that. They were more comfortable with that which was familiar to them, rather than turn from that to the truth.
In my years as a pastor I have met too many people who give some indication that they might be convinced their “faith” is empty. However, they have loved ones who have died and they claim that they would rather spend eternity in hell with them, than to change their beliefs. There are others who make a mockery of hell. They figure it will be party time for them and their friends.
The LORD is very gracious. He gives people many opportunities to reconsider the broad way. He shows people that the narrow way is far better. However, man can be quite stubborn. Thousands upon thousands have perished because they refused to believe the truth. No one wins through rebellion. The Bible is not a complicated book to understand. God has made it such that all lost people can understand their need to know Him. The problem is:
II Corinthians 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
The problem is not that the Gospel is not clear. The problem is that too many people are lazy and just go with their “gut feeling” or they “follow their heart” and do not weigh things out properly. God is there to help each person to see things as they truly are. It is important to stop and consider the path you are on. Is it truly the right path? It requires more than our fickle feelings to determine truth. We need to start with the Truth. The Word of God is Truth. Be sure you have a King James Version and read that. Ask God to give you understanding. He is good. He wants everyone to know Him. He will also lead you to a true church where you can find the answers you need. We are here to help anyone who has questions to know the truth. We are not the source of truth. The Word of God is Truth. As a pastor my responsibility is to study God’s Word to meet God’s approval and thus be able to help others to know the truth as well.
Pastor Bartel
